The term culture has increasingly been used in the discourse of public health, for example, with respect to issues of health disparities in the U.S., the development and implementation of ‘culturally competent’ or ‘culturally appropriate’ programs, and in many other ways. What exactly is culture, however?

Published in partnership with the American Public Health Association, this newest offering in the Essential Public Health series examines what is meant by culture, the ways in which culture intersects with health issues, how public health efforts can benefit by understanding and working with cultural processes, and a brief selection of conceptual tools and research methods that are useful in identifying relationships between culture and health.

Essentials of Health, Culture, and Diversity includes practical guidelines for incorporating cultural understanding in public health settings, and examples of programs where that has occurred.

Mark Edberg, PhD-Associate Professor, The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health

MARK EDBERG, PhD, MA, is Associate Professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health in the School of Public Health and Health Services at George Washington University, with secondary appointments in the Department of Anthropology and Elliott School of International Affairs. Dr. Edberg is an applied and academic anthropologist with 20 years’ experience in social research, primarily in public health, that has included basic behavioral research, interventions and intervention research, program evaluation, community health promotion, strategic planning and policy development, communications development, and capacity building – both domestic and international. Key areas of focus have been: high risk and marginalized populations, social determinants of health, health disparities, minority health, at-risk youth, prevention of HIV/AIDS and STIs, youth violence, substance abuse, general issues of poverty and health, and theory development. He has been Principal Investigator, Co-Principal Investigator or Project Director on intervention and research efforts funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH), U.S. Office of Minority Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and other agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, and has been working with UNICEF in the Latin America-Caribbean region as well as at UNICEF headquarters. He has also provided consulting and support for the Organization of American States, USAID, Urban Institute, and local governments. Dr. Edberg teaches graduate courses in social/behavioral theory and qualitative research, and undergraduate courses in culture and health and social/behavioral theory for health promotion, as well as previous courses for the Department of Anthropology. Dr. Edberg has published numerous articles in journals such as the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, the Journal of Youth Studies, Health Promotion Practice, Journal of Primary Prevention, the International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Anthropological Quarterly, and others. Dr. Edberg’s recent books include Essentials of Health Behavior and Essential Readings in Health Behavior,and a book documenting his U.S.-Mexico border research (University of Texas Press). He is also a recipient of a Fulbright Senior Specialist award and a Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology.